The Board of Directors

Meet our people

Our Board of Directors is pleased to focus on important initiatives to further diversity and inclusion in the mining industry.

 

Social norms, cultural stereotypes, power and privilege in organizations provide the “invisible foundation” for organizational decisions about which jobs and opportunities are suitable for certain types of workers.

The 2022 Board of Directors

Melissa Ng

Chair
Melissa is a Professional Geologist with deep rooted operational and exploration experience in the mining industry. During this time, she has held several geology positions with multiple North American mining companies in various commodities. This type of site-based rotation work has allowed her to pursue her passion while maintaining her family’s home base in Edmonton, AB. She holds an MBA from Athabasca University and a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta. She is an active member of mine rescue and emergency response and is a dynamic part of growth and change at the companies she works for. Her current role as the Chief Geologist at one of Cameco Corporation’s northern operations allows her to lead and develop young minds along their career and leadership journeys. Her personal leadership philosophy is: support those around you and allow them to become better than you ever were!

Mélanie LaRoche-Boisvert

Vice Chair
Mélanie is an open pit mine planner with DRA Global, where she works on various studies for new and expanding mining projects around the world. She holds a B.Eng. in Mining Engineering from McGill University as well as an M.Eng from McGill University, focusing on integrating mine-to-port transportation into the simultaneous stochastic optimization of open-pit mining complexes. She is a past Executive with Young Mining Professionals (YMP) Toronto and YMP Scholarships, and has previously been a volunteer with Women in Mining Canada for four years before joining the Board.

Valeria Cardozo Noriega

Treasurer
Valeria Cardozo is a Senior Manager in the audit practice of KPMG Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources. Valeria has over 15 years’ experience providing audit, risk, and control services to large and medium sized corporations over a wide variety of industries including mining. Her experience includes conducting business in Latin America, Peru for over 10 years with an additional 2 years in the United Kingdom. Valeria is currently involved in internal activities at KPMG to support inclusion, diversity, and equity. In her role as president of Ibero-America Network (Hispanic people network for the past 5 years), she develops, promotes, and executes community/business related initiatives focused on Latin America in the Greater Toronto Area. In addition, Valeria has been involved in leading the first external mentorship program for senior female managers for the mining industry launched in 2021. Other volunteering activities within the Hispanic community includes her involvement as a member of the board of Directors in the Peruvian Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Toronto.

Sheila Colman

Secretary
Sheila is the Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary of Lundin Gold Inc., owner of the Fruta del Norte gold mine in Ecuador. Sheila has executive oversight responsibilities for legal, governance and compliance matters for the Company. Before joining Lundin Gold in 2015, Sheila served as Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Denison Mines Corp., a uranium mining company, and Corporate Secretary and counsel to Uranium Participation Corporation. Sheila has almost 20 years of experience working with public companies and boards of directors in the mining sector at various stages of development and in different jurisdictions. She has extensive experience in board governance matters and risk oversight and leads on aspects of ESG at Lundin Gold. She is co-leading Lundin Gold’s DE&I work, including the alignment of the Company’s practices with the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and is also co-leading on Lundin Gold’s climate action, including the adoption of TCFD. Sheila is a member of both the British Columbia and Ontario Bars and has a Global Competent Boards designation (GCB.D) from Competent Boards.

Kevin D'Souza

Kevin is a recognized professional and ESG thought leader with nearly three decades of direct experience in responsible mining and is currently the Chief Sustainability Officer for Resource Capital Funds. He has worked his entire career in the mining industry having begun as an operational mining engineer in West Africa after graduating from the Royal School of Mines in London in England. He has worked in operational, managerial, and executive leadership roles that range from remote exploration camps, mine construction sites, operational mines, and closure sites, to Corporate and Ministerial offices. He has worked directly for or consulted with, numerous mining companies including many of the industry’s majors such as Barrick Gold, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kinross, and De Beers, and was most recently the VP of Security, Sustainability & Environment for Centerra Gold. Kevin has been fortunate to have amassed direct mining experience in over fifty countries worldwide working with closely remote rural communities and indigenous groups. To complement the private sector work he has also worked extensively on mining-related human rights and sustainable development programs for some major NGOs and with International Funding Institutions (IFIs) supporting emerging market Governments on macro-level mining policy reform and mining-related community development programs (including the World Bank, IFC, ILO, USAID, and the UK’s DFID). He is also a committee member of the Black North Initiative (BNI) and a mentor on the International Women in Mining (IWiM) mentoring program.

Kassandra Del Greco

Ms. Del Greco is an Associate at Resource Capital Funds, working for the Opportunities Fund. Kassandra began her career as a field-based exploration geologist in Quebec, working for companies such as Goldcorp and Eastmain Resources, before relocating to Denver to begin a career in private equity. Kassandra is a registered professional geologist in the province of Quebec, holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Victoria with a specialization in tectonics and structural geology, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University in Earth and Planetary Science. In addition, she is a member of the Women in Mining U.S.A. Denver chapter, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Association of Mineral Exploration of British-Columbia, and Toastmasters USA. Within the mining industry, Kassandra is passionate about the promotion of diversity and inclusion, mentorship for early career professionals and students, and ESG. She is a mentor for the Young Mining Professionals mentorship program and works within Resource Capital Funds as a champion for diversity and inclusion.

Valentina Marinova

Valentina has more than ten years audit experience, and is part of the Ernst & Young Quebec mining and metals industry team. She has worked on multi-national and global accounts, and has a strong understanding of industry risks. She is part of the Young Professionals chapter in Montreal. Valentina has been a selection judge for Women in Mining Canada’s Trailblazer Awards and the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She has participated in several EY initiatives promoting the advancement of women.

Jennifer Cameron

Jennifer Cameron is the Director, Investor Relations at Dundee Precious Metals, a Canadian-based mid-tier gold producer. Jennifer has over 16 years of experience as an investor relations professional with publicly-listed mining companies. Prior to joining Dundee Precious Metals, she spent 15 years with Kinross Gold Corporation in progressively senior investor relations positions, and has extensive experience providing investor relations support during a significant number of M&A transactions, equity and debt financings and leading various communications initiatives. Jennifer previously served as a volunteer with Women in Mining Canada’s Communications committee prior to joining the Board in May 2021.

Beth Borody

Having worked extensively in Sub-Saharan Africa and Canada, Beth brings a uniquely global worldview to her work. With experience working with Government, Private Sector and Non-Profits, Beth is able to connect the dots to develop creative solutions to the most pressure ESG issues facing the industry today. She believes in creating and implementing positive change involving sustainability, on both an environmental and social context. She has actively worked with Indigenous partners to promote economic inclusion, more diverse supply chains and to address challenges related to climate action, water management and reclamation. These experiences have led to an in-depth understanding of the holistic planetary impact on and from industry in critical decision making. When entering the mining space, Beth immediately began working on promoting greater gender equality within the industry. She is passionate about women’s rights and promoting greater female leadership within the mining space. Beth does not shy away from complex and challenging problems, but instead approaches them with a people-centric mindset followed by data-driven design solutions. She offers a fresh, new and innovative voice in the mining industry and is committed to propelling this industry into the future.

Alina Antonie

Alina has extensive governance and compliance experience in the mining industry. Alina has professional competency in Board Leadership, Corporate Governance, Strategy, Audit and Enterprise Risk Management, both as Chair of the Finance Committee and Board Member of a not-for-profit organization based in Toronto, and also from extensive interactions with Boards in the private sector. Alina was fortunate to meet some exceptional women who have had a significant impact on her professional and personal growth. Also, she had the unique opportunity to travel to the sites and meet teams with diverse professional and cultural backgrounds. And, although in many places the representation of women is low, the constant feedback is that women are instrumental in enhancing the safety culture, identifying ways to improve the wellbeing of the team, and driving positive results. Alina is passionate about community development and mentoring, and a strong supporter of hands-on volunteering. Alina will be honoured to give back and help other women succeed in the industry as part of WiM Canada.

Maria Vallejo Garcia

Maria is an experienced business professional with a background in mining engineering with a focus on novel techniques for financial valuation, and problem-solving strategies for complex mining projects. With more than 13 years of experience, she has worked with large-cap mining companies as well as prestigious equity firms and consulting companies. Her global knowledge spans mining ventures at all stages of development and across a variety of commodities. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Mining and Metallurgy Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, a Master's degree in Stochastic Mine Planning from McGill University, and a number of certifications and post-graduate diplomas. Maria is a firm believer in the importance of the economic empowerment that education and job opportunities can bring to women in STEM. Her own story of success and empowerment is her motivation to keep working for women's rights, opportunities, participation, and retention in the mining industry. Maria is an advocate for mental health programs, reflecting her personal commitment to the importance of recognizing mental health as a pillar for the success of women in the workplace. In addition, Maria is an executive member of Hispano Mine and a professional mentor for CIM.

Sekai Musoki

Sekai Musoki is a Construction Specialist with BHP. She is currently posted at BHP’s Jansen Mine as part of the Construction Systems and Analytics team. Her focus is supporting the deployment of Construction Systems to contractors, and finding ways to utilize construction data to find efficiencies through each phase of the project. She moved to Canada from Zimbabwe to study Civil Engineering at Memorial University in Newfoundland. Having lived on two continents and traveled across six, she has developed a keen interest in understanding the world’s cultures and a desire to use her experience to make a positive impact in her spheres of influence. Sekai’s passion for diversity and inclusion is inspired by the intersectionality of her own experience as a BIPOC female immigrant. She believes that diversity is a strength that can be leveraged in organizations to improve organizational performance and outcomes. Sekai believes that visibility counts and hopes to use her influence to create an industry where young people, regardless of their gender or ethnicity, can see themselves represented at all levels.

Past Directors

  • Diane Arcand
  • Mafalda Arias
  • Douglas Bolton
  • Anne-Marie Bosse
  • Teri Brigden
  • Kathy Chapman
  • Heather Cheeseman
  • Curtis Clarke
  • Jamile Cruz
  • Kristin Cuddington
  • Heather Ednie
  • Stacey Ferguson
  • Resa Furey
  • Charmaine Gazdic
  • Siri C. Genik
  • Catherine Gignac
  • Tara Gilfillan
  • Leanne Hall
  • Mary Louise Hall
  • Susie Henderson
  • Alex Hood
  • Rick Hutson
  • Nancy Komperdo
  • Jennifer Koury
  • Cynthia La Sueur-Aquin
  • Anne Lewis
  • Jean Lucas
  • Sharon McLeod
  • Angelina Mehta
  • MaryAnn Mihychuk
  • Angelica Mirza
  • Marie-Francine Poitras
  • Charles Riopel
  • Catharine Shaw
  • Kelly Stark-Anderson
  • Tabetha Stirret
  • Melanie Sturk
  • Karen Trenton
  • Marie-Hélène Turgeon